Never To Be Erased

What once was true can never be erased It must remain a testament to time In mind and heart it cannot be defaced And to it will not cling denial's grime To hide what was a part of history The story of your life and heart's desire To now pretend that it's a mystery Will serve to burden heart and make it tire Be not ashamed of feelings that were true Of love you found the will so to express What heart extols through words must shine on through To bury truth, the harm will not redress Be truth to self, and stand by what you write Or lose yourself, and thus lose poet's might Eileen Manassian Post Script: A poem is a living breathing entity that exits outside the poet's control. When we write, we risk being judged and that is painful, but...if we never write, we risk the judgment of our own hearts, and that is cowardice. I've deleted a poem or two here because I've been afraid of what people will say of it, particularly the sensual pieces. In the end, I've felt like I'm not true to myself when I conform to what others think of me. Have I been attacked for it? Yes! Has it hurt? Yes! Did it make me evaluate myself? Yes! Did it teach me a lesson? Yes! It taught me to be STRONGER...and stick to my guns. What we most fault in what others write is what we are struggling with ourselves. It's true. There is a fine line between being vulnerable and being wise. That fine line is the POET'S to cross, and no one else's. :)